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2011 Offseason Thread


dlbalr

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All I know is that a Carter or a Richards would be a great fit on the habs. More size, more aggression, and fairly consistent scoring.

I don't see how this is a plus for the Flyers. Yes, they needed goaltending but they just handed out another big, long term contract that could be an albatross around their necks. They gave away two guys who made them both tough to play against and constant scoring threats.

At some point, GMs have to stop handing out these excessively long contracts. Very few have turned out well, most turn out to be a problem. Gomez, Luongo, Richards, etc.. are not Ovechkin or Crosby. Any deal longer then 5 years is dumb, imo.

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True. But all we can go by is the knowledge we possess. And by those lights, this was a questionable deal if your goal is to contend now.

Richards and Pronger have butted heads before, so you could be quite correct. But having dealt one of the league's blood-and-guts all-around players and a 40-goal scorer, they're now relying on a guy with 8 games NHL experience (Schenn), another who has never scored more than 40 points (Simmonds) and an enigmatic youngster who frustrated Columbus (Voracek).

Add in the draft picks, and Philly is set with young talent for years to come. But does this make them better for next season? Maybe - but only if everything breaks their way.

Holmgren was in tears during the press conference. Have you ever seen that?

I don't know anything outside of perception and analyzing the moves from outside, but considering all the shrewd moves Holmgren has made in rebuilding this team and reading the Philly fans reaction, this seems like a move that was requested from up above. They proved that you can almost win a Cup with a tin can in goal two seasons ago, to sell the soul of the team for Bryzgalov seems like a knee jerk reaction.

The peaks of the youth and the goaltender/All-Star defenseman don't match up. This is a bizarre move and if the trades were made by somebody like Milbury I would just think idiotic, but when a guy pulls all the right strings for 5 years and then melts down over 2 hours, I am calling shenanigans.

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Maybe this situation is comparable to the 2008-09 Habs, the summer Gainey cleaned out Koivu, Kovalev, Tanguay, Komisarek et al and replaced them with Gomez, Cammalleri, Gionta, Spacek and Gill over 24 hours.

There is a lot of talk of locker room issues in Philly, of a feud between Richards and Pronger that divided the team in half. It is probably a way of putting an end to that. I think it was that same season for the Habs where lots of pictures started popping up of people like Price and Higgins in bars which were shortly followed by allegations that their play was struggling because the young players were too busy partying - well, similar thing with Richards and other young players on the Flyers, and there were rumours he didn't get along with Laviolette (probably not true) and that he was getting more irritated by the media. The question is: if you're shopping Carter but then decide to trade Richards, shouldn't you then hang on to Carter?

Also there's the fact that Richards is intimidated by Subban being in the same conference so he requested a trade.

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Maybe this situation is comparable to the 2008-09 Habs, the summer Gainey cleaned out Koivu, Kovalev, Tanguay, Komisarek et al and replaced them with Gomez, Cammalleri, Gionta, Spacek and Gill over 24 hours.

There is a lot of talk of locker room issues in Philly, of a feud between Richards and Pronger that divided the team in half. It is probably a way of putting an end to that. I think it was that same season for the Habs where lots of pictures started popping up of people like Price and Higgins in bars which were shortly followed by allegations that their play was struggling because the young players were too busy partying - well, similar thing with Richards and other young players on the Flyers, and there were rumours he didn't get along with Laviolette (probably not true) and that he was getting more irritated by the media. The question is: if you're shopping Carter but then decide to trade Richards, shouldn't you then hang on to Carter?

Also there's the fact that Richards is intimidated by Subban being in the same conference so he requested a trade.

I immediately thought of July 1st 2009 when it was all going down yesterday.

The shock I felt as a Hab fan was likely the same jolts going through the Flyers faithful yesterday. I am not going to guess why they did it, but Holmgren looked like he didn't want to do it.

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The difference between what Philly has done and what the Habs did in 2009 is that we destroyed a core of players that had conspicuously failed to deliver the goods on the ice, and replaced it with a core of proven veterans with Cup rings. Philly did something approaching the reverse of that, shattering a team that had made the Finals and replacing it with kids just out of kindergarten.

Elliotte Friedman was on the Team 1040 in Vancouver this morning and he basically confirmed Wamsley's suspicion: Ed Snyder's an old man desperate for a Cup and commanded Holmgren to sign Bryzghalov at all costs. Whether this ownership intrusion extended to these specific moves is a unclear, but Friedman implied as much, and for one of the all-time-tough SOBs in the sport (Holmgren) to break down in public really suggests that something has gone off the rails in Philly.

I sure hope so. With them in meltdown mode, the biggest single obstacle to the Habs coming out of the East would be removed. :habslogo:

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The difference between what Philly has done and what the Habs did in 2009 is that we destroyed a core of players that had conspicuously failed to deliver the goods on the ice, and replaced it with a core of proven veterans with Cup rings. Philly did something approaching the reverse of that, shattering a team that had made the Finals and replacing it with kids just out of kindergarten.

Elliotte Friedman was on the Team 1040 in Vancouver this morning and he basically confirmed Wamsley's suspicion: Ed Snyder's an old man desperate for a Cup and commanded Holmgren to sign Bryzghalov at all costs. Whether this ownership intrusion extended to these specific moves is a unclear, but Friedman implied as much, and for one of the all-time-tough SOBs in the sport (Holmgren) to break down in public really suggests that something has gone off the rails in Philly.

I sure hope so. With them in meltdown mode, the biggest single obstacle to the Habs coming out of the East would be removed. :habslogo:

I agree 100%. I had empathy for the Philly fans (I may never say this again) because I understood the emotional tear they felt, only there's was 10x worse. It would be the equivalent to Price/Subban driving the horse to the precipice of the Stanley Cup championship and the Habs turning around and trading them for Jack Campbell and Victor Hedman the next season. I would lose my mind after investing a decade in those players.

The funny thing is, the Philly fans are already in rationalization mode.

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J-M Liles to the Leafs for a 2nd rounder. Liles has an iffy cap hit, that's why the cost is relatively cheap. Guess he's replacing Kaberle.

Yeh, pretty decent return for a 2nd round pick.

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Regehr, Kotalik, and a 2nd next year to Buffalo for Butler and Byron. Buffalo's defence got a lot better. Feaster uses the savings to give Tanguay a 5 year extension. O...kay then. Early reports say $17.5 million over that term which is a decent deal.

Any thoughts on the moves from yesterday? (Campbell for Olesz, Burns for Setoguchi and others.)

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Regehr, Kotalik, and a 2nd next year to Buffalo for Butler and Byron. Buffalo's defence got a lot better. Feaster uses the savings to give Tanguay a 5 year extension. O...kay then. Early reports say $17.5 million over that term which is a decent deal.

Any thoughts on the moves from yesterday? (Campbell for Olesz, Burns for Setoguchi and others.)

Lemme guess... NMC? lol

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We'll be seeing a few more names hit the UFA list in the next 24-36 hours that could be of interest as depth guys. The notables who haven't been (and won't be) qualified so far:

F Nicklas Bergfors (FLA)

F Steve Bernier (FLA)

D Matt Gilroy (NYR)

D Jack Hillen (NYI)

F Rob Schremp (WPG) may also be let go.

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We'll be seeing a few more names hit the UFA list in the next 24-36 hours that could be of interest as depth guys. The notables who haven't been (and won't be) qualified so far:

F Nicklas Bergfors (FLA)

F Steve Bernier (FLA)

D Matt Gilroy (NYR)

D Jack Hillen (NYI)

F Rob Schremp (WPG) may also be let go.

I'd take a chance with Bergfors. He's inconsistent, but he's quite talented.

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Semyon Varlamov to the KHL is a report that has popped up. I wonder if he'd stay if he was actually guaranteed a NHL starter's job; if so, perhaps Phoenix/Colorado kicks the tires on him before he puts pen to paper over there?

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More names of note that are going unqualified:

F Matt D'Agostini (STL) - the Blues want to do what the Habs did with Pouliot last year

D Sami Lepisto (CBJ)

D Mike Lundin (TB)

D Anton Stralman (CBJ) - this one really surprises me

F Jiri Tlusty (CAR)

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And with the deadline now passed, here are some more interesting names to ponder:

F Daniel Carcillo (PHI)

F Kyle Chipchura (ANA)

F Jake Dowell (CHI)

F J-F Jacques (EDM)

F Tyler Kennedy (PIT)

F Anthony Stewart (WPG)

There are several others but these are the biggest names so far that haven't already been mentioned.

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And with the deadline now passed, here are some more interesting names to ponder:

F Daniel Carcillo (PHI)

F Kyle Chipchura (ANA)

F Jake Dowell (CHI)

F J-F Jacques (EDM)

F Tyler Kennedy (PIT)

F Anthony Stewart (WPG)

There are several others but these are the biggest names so far that haven't already been mentioned.

Why oh why do you have Chipchura there?

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Why oh why do you have Chipchura there?

I said 'interesting' names. As a former Hab and a former 1st round pick, I think that qualifies as interesting to Hab fans. For those who want to bring up the argument that the Habs always give up on youngsters too early, this is an instance where the deal worked out okay for Montreal who wound up with Archambault with the pick they got for Chipchura.

Speaking of interesting names, add G Brian Elliott in Colorado to the list. Boy, that deal didn't work out for them.

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Speaking of interesting names, add G Brian Elliott in Colorado to the list. Boy, that deal didn't work out for them.

When I saw that deal happen I was stunned... Elliott has never been a starter and Anderson had a great season the year before and I didn't think deserved to be traded at all!

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Isles acquire Ehrhoff's rights for a guaranteed 4th rounder. He already has turned down $4.6 M long-term, how much more will New York be willing to pay?

Also, it seems as if the Fabian Brunnstrom era has come to an end. The highly sought after UFA (the Habs were in the bidding) was dealt to Toronto last year but was among 3 Leafs not qualified yesterday.

Lemme guess... NMC? lol

Modified NTC for Tanguay, likely full for some years, partial for others.

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And with the deadline now passed, here are some more interesting names to ponder:

F Daniel Carcillo (PHI)

F Kyle Chipchura (ANA)

F Jake Dowell (CHI)

F J-F Jacques (EDM)

F Tyler Kennedy (PIT)

F Anthony Stewart (WPG)

There are several others but these are the biggest names so far that haven't already been mentioned.

I wouldn't mind Byron Bitz as the 13th forward.

He missed last season recovering from surgery, but if he's 100% then he's an excellent addition for size and toughness.

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